New Expanded Merchant Services for Optometrists and Ophthalmologists

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Optometrists and ophthalmologists are an important part of the health care system. Merchant Data Systems recognized that fact recently and has committed to expanding its services to serve the needs of the eye care industry better. After all, they take serious care of our eyes and we need our eyes to see the world around us. Glasses, contact lenses, and doctors’ visits can be expensive and often are not covered by insurance. Credit cards come in handy for these seriously expensive visits, but that only works if the office in question is set up to accept credit cards.

Merchant Data Systems - Accept Credit Cards

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Optometrists and ophthalmologists are an important part of the health care system. Merchant Data Systems recognized that fact recently and has committed to expanding its services to serve the needs of the eye care industry better. After all, they take serious care of our eyes and we need our eyes to see the world around us. Glasses, contact lenses, and doctors’ visits can be expensive and often are not covered by insurance. Credit cards come in handy for these seriously expensive visits, but that only works if the office in question is set up to accept credit cards.

The process of accepting credit card payments is very simple. Credit card machines and credit card terminals are attached to a modem that communicates with the issuing bank. The bank can either decline or approve the payment in real time. This can be extremely helpful to eye care offices as it can raise the number of customers they see and it can make purchases easy and far more efficient. Merchant Data Systems has been a leader in the industry for years and is working hard to expand its client base to eye care professionals.

Merchant Data Systems believes this is essential to such an office because, frankly, customers generally spend over $100 when entering an eye doctor’s office. Fewer people are caring this amount of cash on them at any given time. In the past, there were no other options but to carry cash or a checkbook. Lost cash was simply written off. Today there are a multitude of payment options and debit cards and credit cards are generally seen as safer by consumers. There is recourse if they lose them and protection built into the card itself. This makes credit cards attractive to consumers and has helped make them more common.

While increasing business is a great benefit of credit card processing, there are a myriad of merchant services offered to businesses that go with credit card processing services. Merchant Data Systems has long had an expansive list of merchant services, but a recent team up with Karma Snack, another industry leader is making those services even better. A merchant cash advance is one of those services. These advances are loans made through a financial institution who is then given the ability to withdraw a fee from each credit card transaction until the loan is paid back with interest. These loans are fairly quick and easy to secure and can be used for all types of expansions to a business. They can be used to buy more products, to replace outdated machinery, and to alter a brick and mortar stores appearance. They are also easy to payback as the payoff is built directly into each sale made.

As if access to cash and more customers was not enough, there are many other services that come with merchant processing packages offered by Merchant Data Systems for eye care professionals. An eye doctor often sells many different products. Keeping track of those products and reordering what is necessary can be a full-time job in and of itself. Well, if you are willing to deal with a merchant service provider, that job can easily be outsourced and streamlined. POS integration, or point-of-sale, can be used to make reporting one what is being sold easier. Many businesses have found that POS systems actually help them cut down on lost or missing products which can cut into profits quickly. POS systems can also be integrated with invoicing solutions and payroll solutions offered by a merchant processing company. By outsourcing these jobs eye doctors can free up their staff to help more customers who in the end means better customer service and a quicker turn around. All of this translates into higher profits.

In recent years the eye care industry has seen a rise in eCommerce competition. Retailers are offering patients cheap eyeglasses simply by inserting their prescription which is obtained from their eye doctor. Eye care stores are losing valuable business to these websites due to their convenience. Well, an optometrist or ophthalmologist can explore eCommerce as well, but only if they are accepting mobile payments. By setting up a website with an online shopping cart, customers can be given the option of paying for the visits prior to coming in, they can also pay for contact lenses or solutions that they would normally buy and have them shipped. The convenience of the system will make people far more likely to utilize the eye services offered at the office. This is where the team up between Karma Snack (Miami SEO Agency) and MDS really gets involved. eCommerce is the forefront of a new initiative to better serve existing and expanding client bases.

Eye doctors often find themselves in a fight against insurance companies, consumers, and online retailers. This means they must stay ahead of the pack in order to survive. The key to surviving often means taking on a different and new approach to businesses. Thankfully there are companies out there dedicated to keeping small businesses abreast to all the merchant services that are available in today’s market. Adding services can mean the difference between life and death for a small business.